Straining

Yesterday was a bad day for Karen and Imani.

Karen had to take her mom around to different doctors yesterday. Bernie's condition is worsening on a few different fronts. Karen says that sometimes Bernie is catatonic. Her mouth just hangs open and she has this blank stare. Also, Bernie has become very unstable on her feet. She falls frequently. The other night she fell and hit her head requiring six stitches. To make things worse she can only go to County General for emergency. She doesn't have any other option. And apparently the wait in the County emergency room is just as bad as it sounds.

Karen also has a hard time being around her mom a lot. The Alzheimer's combined with the dementia often times leaves her very spaced out. Sometimes it's like dealing with a small child. It really stresses her out. I don't know how I could ever deal with it if my mom had an illness like that.
Karen had to run Bernie around between appointments yesterday. It just so happened that she had enough time to pick up the girls from school before rushing off to another appointment.

On Sunday when I went to the movies with Imani I was asking about when her tennis matches would be scheduled. She told me she didn't know. As it turns out she was told during her last period in school that their first match would be that day. She needed to go home and get her uniform but Karen didn't have time to run her home and back to the school if she was going to make her appointment on time, an appointment that she wouldn't have a chance to reschedule for anytime soon.

So, in the end we've ended up with Imani missing her first match, and Karen feeling extra guilt about it on top of the stress of dealing with her mother. Just a no-win situation...